GF: Tortilla Patata

On the weekends, I actually eat breakfast. It’s really a testament to how much I like sleeping in more than it is a one to how good breakfast is for us. I don’t like getting out of bed so much that I’m only willing to roll out at the absolute last-second possible. Seriously. I will, however, stay up until all hours to get anything/everything I need to done. It’s just the way my clock works. So teaching… 7:30 AM reporting time… ACK! It’s ungodly, I tell you.

Today was a gorgeous day – not weather-wise as it rained allllllllll day long – but it was a good day with my love. I’m not so sure my pup, Max (our black lab) would agree though. We brought him to the groomer’s today for a bath. Now, anyone with a lab knows that this is not such an major ordeal.

We dropped off our son dog, Max, at the groomers at noon for his appointment and we told that the owner (his groomer) was running late because he couldn’t find his car keys. No worries. When I asked when we could pick up Max, the gal told me 4:00 PM. FOUR HOURS? Good lord! He’s a lab. His hair is short… he’s well mannered… oh well. Not my line of work. What do I know. So, we gave the pooch a hug and a kiss and went shopping and putzing.

At 3:00 we stopped by the groomers in hopes that he had finished early. Sadly, our pooch was still sitting all alone in the room where we had left him. The grooming hadn’t even begun. When they saw us, the rush in and began the grooming with promises of finishing at 4:00pm.

Back again at 4:00 and there is one VERY happy dog to see us and get the heck out of there! He practically pulled my poor lovin’ honey over on their way out to the car in the rain. WOW. He was anxious to escape. One we got home, however, we noticed his back paws looked weird.

The pads on his feet look like this:

Anyone know what this is?
Me neither. (However, if you do know, please – email or post a comment. We are a bit concerned.)

He doesn’t seem to be favoring his feet at all but this is not normal. Needless to say, the pooch’s anxiety and weird-looking feet rearranged our evening plans.

The benefits here? My house smells so good right now from the baking I’ve been doing with the pooch under foot. Cooling in the kitchen now as I type this:

kitchen-sink granola bars (for breakfast during the week… LOL)

4 “French” baguettes

Pozole (Mexican pork and hominy stew with chile broth)

and… A tortilla patata

I learned how to make this breakfast/dinner/tapa as an exchange student to Spain nearly 20 years ago. (GAD.. I”M OLD!) It was served for dinner (10pm dinner there) or tapas, but seems to be the perfect breakfast/brunch or late dinner dish in our house.

While this takes a little practice, it’s easy to adapt to your own personal tastes once you get the basic recipe down. Consider adding sausage, Canadian bacon, roast red pepper strips, fresh herbs, etc to the mix right before you start to form the tortilla. But for now, here’s the basic recipe to get you stated:

Heat 1/2″ of olive oil in a deep side saute pan (10″ wide or so) until very hot. Gently fry the onions, garlic and potatoes (in batches if necessary) until the potatoes are just golden brown.

While the potatoes are frying, whip the eggs together until well blended. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Add the cooked, semi-drained potatoes to the egg mixture and mix together well.

Drain the majority of the oil out of the pan- but not all of it. Return the pan to the heat.

Gently pour the egg/potatoe mixture back into the pan. Turn the heat to low/low flame.

After the eggs have set on the edges, gently slide a heat resistant rubber spatula around the edge of pan to lift the egg mixture – but don’t break the edges.

After running the spatula along the pan edges, place a plate over the top of the frying pan- top side down over the potatoes for flipping. (The plate should be large enough to cover the pan plus 1-2 inches for wiggle room if posisble). Carry to your sink (if flipping is not your skill yet) and FLIP the pan while holding the plate against pan tightly. Now the potatoes/eggs are on the plate – not the pan.

Return the pan to the burner.

Gently slide the potato mixture back into the pan leaving the flipped/cooked side on top.

Oh I am so hungry now I could crawl into the computer. My friend downstairs in Modern Foreign Languages, Nana, said she was bringing me one of these today (she’s Spanish) but I have the stuff to make one at home, just in case.

Looks yum, and it kind of reminds me of a frittata, does it taste like one?

Hiya Slacker! (I LOVE that name… LOL) –
It is simlar to a frittata – but I would say that a frittata gets a little “spongier” and more crispy. This one is more simple – egg/potato/onion and flavors to your liking (which always include garlic in this house. LOL). Do you make a frittata that looks similar?
-Kate

This looks so good. What a pretty photograph. I love naturally gluten-free things!

Me too! I ran into someone today that was curious about my shopping. (Xanthan gum prompts many questions lately. LOL) Her brother had just been diagnosed and her daughter is on the verge. She was looking totally overwhelmed. I told her the easiest step is to shop the edges of the store – fruits/veggies, unadulterate meats, dairy, etc. She looked a bit more relieved. The baking thing takes a bit longer – but man – there are a TON of naturally GF things for us! I LOVE it!
-Kate

We make these and they are so good! We learned to make these when we lived in Spain for 3 yrs. We used to go to a little bar there and each of us ordered Tortilla de Patata. The kids loved the ones made with Gambas (shrimp).

[…] on the weekends that breakfast and brunch can really shine. Gluten free crepes, pancakes, tortilla patata (Spanish egg/potato frittata-like dish), etc are all within reach and rather quick to make. […]